Medical devices can suffer from production errors, but in recent years barcodes have made it easier to track defects. With GS1 standards and technology, it is now possible to ensure traceability for everything from medicines to implants. The latter was at the center of an international scandal in 2010. It could have been nipped in the bud if barcodes had been as widespread as they are today
About an hour and a half's drive from Copenhagen, in an industrial district in the small town of Åstorp, the cries of seagulls mingle with the sound of powerful engines as the many trucks in front of the 64,000 sqm Frode Laursen warehouse, with ton-heavy trailers, zigzag between each other like ants in an anthill.
In recent years, the global fight against counterfeit medicines has intensified. Barcodes play a key role in this. In Scandinavia, we generally have good control over the security of medicinal products, but globally, fraud is too often seen in the handling of life-saving medicines. People in central Asia and Africa do not have the same level of drug safety as we have in Denmark. That is why something needs to be done. See how the GS1 systems play a key part in ensuring your safety.
Occasionally, we hear of infected food products that inadvertently send consumers to the toilet for days - or worse, lead to hospitalisation. The National Serum Institute is working to find the most effective way to use GS1's systems to contain foods that are not good for us.
In Denmark, 9 out of 10 bottles are collected, which is unique worldwide. It sounds simple, but it's not. Labelling helps to ensure that the system works. We have followed a small, thick-meshed bottle.
Barcodes on all instruments will in future optimise the daily routine of staff and not least patient safety in the Danish healthcare system. Come on a tour behind the doors of the new Gødstrup Regional Hospital, where the future is already underway. Here, technology and staff work together to sterilise instruments for operations.
A bioanalyst in the biochemistry department at Aalborg University Hospital got so tired of his job one night that he decided to revolutionise it. Eight years later, hands have been replaced by robotic arms - a new invention that saves man-hours, increases job satisfaction and improves working conditions.
Ahmed Hessam has invented the iV-GO. A mechanical pump for IV treatment in a backpack. It's a minor revolution. Because with the iV-GO, all patients can receive their intravenous treatment on the go, rather than with an IV stand. Together with his partner, Alexei Cernenco, the inventor dreams of a better experience for everyone who needs an IV. GS1 is part of making that dream a reality.
In a busy world, barcode scanning helps healthcare professionals to comply with the five patient rights: right patient, right medicine, right dose, right time and right route. The barcodes on medicines are a verifying safety net in the everyday life of healthcare professionals when it comes to helping patients in the best possible way.
The Danish Emergency Management Agency created an intelligent system that keeps track of stock, washing and maintenance. All based on EPC standards from GS1.
RFID became the saving grace for the School of Clinical Assistants and Dental Nurses as a reduction in funding meant less time spent on sterilisation, checking instruments and budget monitoring.
Region Nordjylland has three hospitals with approximately 1,800 beds and more than 8,700 employees. The hospitals' operating departments used to use manual processes for replenishing items, which made them time-consuming with an increased risk of human error.
At the paediatric surgery clinic, staff experience many complex patient pathways and a daily routine that includes many different tasks - some of which involve barcodes that make a huge difference to patients and healthcare professionals. That is, if the barcodes are scanned.
CEO of GS1 Denmark, Lars Kyed has no doubt what will change and revolutionise GS1 Denmark in the future. Data, data and more data.
When the covid-19 vaccines became available, the Irish health authorities focused on ensuring that the roll-out was a safe, efficient and traceable process - from receipt of the vaccines to the actual vaccination.
In Region Syddanmark, medical equipment used to be handled manually, with the risk of missing or obsolete products.Now the region has moved to an electronic inventory management system, using existing barcodes on the products.
